Newspaper launches new website design

Readers of semissourian.com will experience improved function, particularly on cellphones and tablets, with the launch of a new website design.

The design has been years in the making, and is the first major upgrade of the website since 2010. The content will scale bigger or smaller, depending on the size of screen the reader is using.

"We wanted to accomplish several things with this redesign," Southeast Missourian editor Bob Miller said. "But foremost was the emphasis on our readers' experience with smaller screens. The site looks great on cellphones and tablets, and there will no longer be a need to zoom in and out as was the case in the past. I think our readers will love the change."

The desktop version is dramatically different as well. Special priority was placed on showcasing Southeast Missourian photography. Photos will be displayed much larger, both on the front page of semissourian.com and in the photo galleries. Images will appear larger on the homepage on the desktop version, to pull out the details of the newspaper's photo journalism.

"Our desktop version was definitely built with the visual person in mind," Miller said. "We have some of the best photojournalists in the state, and we wanted to put that talent front and center. For those who look for the action captured in news and sports photography, or enjoy the artistic approach to our feature and profile photos, I really think you'll like what you see."

One of the structural aspects that Miller wanted readers to be aware of is the menu button at the top left corner of the page.

"From a design standpoint, we really went to work on cleaning up our site and our home page," Miller said. "We wanted our content to take center stage, not necessarily the navigation. That means we reduced the number of links at the top of the homepage and put them under a drop-down menu. This should be familiar to those who do a lot of web surfing on phones; it may be a little different for those who mainly use desktop or laptop computers."

The redesign also attempts to group content more intuitively for the readers. For instance, community blogs will be grouped with community news items, rather than having a separate section on the homepage.

The website has built in benefits for advertisers as well, with new ad positions and offerings. Plus advertisements are much more visible in the mobile version. Businesses may call advertising director Donna Denson at ddenson@semissourian.com or (573) 388-2751 for more information how they can take advantage of new online opportunities at semissourian.com.

Over the last 30 days, semissourian.com has had nearly 288,000 active users and nearly 2 million pageviews.

Want to weigh in?

The Southeast Missourian welcomes feedback. A form was posted in the promotions section on the front page of the website to collect responses from users. We would love to know what you think.